Kart racing in Bloemfontein

                                                   F400 round 4 & Prokarts.

Some of the newer teams this year are looking incredibly fast, watch out Rogue Racing!

What a fantastic weekend! What a great way to spend time with the family! F400 round 4 (joined by Prokarts) at Bloemfontin M& F Raceway was amazing fun. I've never felt such camaraderie, even on the journey down.

Drivers briefing

Bloemfontein was by far my most enjoyable race yet. I know quite a few teams would disagree with me, but believe me, for a spectator, this track provided entertainment.

"noobies" briefing and "the black and white flag

Qualifying

M & F Raceway is situated in Kelly's View Bloemfontein. It has been there over 15 years but sadly is not very well known by the locals. The new owner Kevin hope to change this and we hope this terrific track will soon be enjoyed by all of Bloemfontein and surrounds.

fast corners

The track is hard on karts and many teams felt its bite with karts dropping like flies. From motors blowing to nose cones coming off mid race, it was a thrill a minute. The races were fast and the corners slippery, a recipe for great entertainment, sadly not so much for the teams.

Prokart team "Mercedes" literally ended up racing held together by duct tape and preyers. Which is not surprising after one of their team members lost her brakes coming into the pits and crashed into a tree stump, Narrowly missing a brand new Land Rover Evogue parked nearby.

Jeff from Metson Racing

The C.O.C and the G-String

The weather was fantastic, clear skies and quite warm in the sun.We even had men parading round in underwear after Metson Racing driver Jeff challenged the C.O.C Robert that he either gives up his black and white flag (used for bad driving/penalties) or wore a g string. The C.O.C in turn challenged Jeff to wear a bra. Both men complied in good spirits and gave the rest of the teams a good laugh.

The C.O.C, his G-String and a black and white flag

 So all in all a great weekend. To all the teams that had such bad luck, I hope you are ready in time for the next round at Kylami and that you'll have a better race day then.

F200's Metson Jnr and Balwin Jnr

F400 Kart series- Bloemfontein

The excitement is building with only 2 days left before we go to Bloemfontein for the 4th race of 2012.

I've never been to Bloemfontein kart track and I am looking forward to a fantastic weekend of racing

I've been told its one helluva party so stay tuned for my blog next week, and perhaps some blackmail pics too ;-)

F400-4stroke racing- round 3 2012 Zwartkops Raceway

Wow! What an exciting and eventful day. 2012 round 3 at Zwartkops raceway started off with a beautifully clear day after a night of heavy rain. The competitors spirits were high and the atmosphere was electric.



The early morning practise started with the f200's and, with the still wet track being rather slippery, it looked more like a scene from "Tokyo Drift". Luckily by the first race the track had dried up somewhat and only a few karts were still sliding.

















Heat 1 was immensely fast for both the F200's and the F400's. The Prokarts joined the F400's in their heats, so it was a large and diverse field and great fun for the competitors to watch.







Heat 2 was bittersweet with Rogue Racing 2 driver Keagan Flipping his kart and dislocating his shoulder. Flipping a kart is not very easy and can generally only be done by the front wheel hitting another karts wheel, which is what happened in this case. The race was ended and all racing was halted for half an hour until the ambulance crew had returned.

Heat 3 went off without and hitch and the day ended well, with many teams achieving higher places then ever before.


My 2 favourites did very well with Allstar finishing in the top 10 for the very first time with a tidy 9th place and  Tripod  finishing 4th.

f400 - 4 stroke karting Zwartkops Raceway

F400 practise at Zwartkops. 

Prokarts

Oh yeah, bring it on!

Looking forward to the races this weekend where both the F400 contingent AND Prokarts will be racing at Zwartkops kart circuit.

If the practise runs were anything to go by, it looks like its going to be a very exciting day for all involved.

The circuit is just over 1000m long and a minimum of eight metres wide. The start/finish line is on the 180m-long 10m wide main straight, and is 90m before the first corner. The first two corners are 12m wide to reduce first lap congestion. A unique feature of the new circuit is the Bridgestone Flyover, where the circuit actually crosses over itself. The sloping terrain of Zwartkops lends itself to great spectator viewing points and promises the drivers a challenging roller coaster ride 

So if you love speed and racing and all round , good family fun, come join us in cheering on the teams, who knows, maybe you'll love it so much that next time I'll be cheering you on too.

How to get there

From Johannesburg

There are a number of ways to get to Zwartkops from the Johannesburg area.

The most common way is past Kyalami – travel in a generally Northerly direction along the R55 towards Pretoria West.(It is approximately 21 km from Kyalami to Zwartkops)

This road can become congested on big international race days.

From Johannesburg, get onto the N14 (Krugersdorp Highway) and head Eastwards. Take the R55/ Pretoria West off-ramp and turn left towards Pretoria West. Travel in a genrally Northerly direction on the R55 and you will reach Zwartkops Raceway on your left.

To avoid congestion the next best alternative route is through Erasmia. Travel in a genrally Northerly direction along the R 511 (William Nochol Drive).

This is the road that goes past Diepsloot (William Nichol R511) and becoming the M26.

As you get to Erasmia turn right at the Zwartkops Raceway signboard and enter through the Drive-In gate.

From East Rand

From the N1 take the Hans Strydom off ramp - travel Westwards on the M10 until the R55. Turn right into the R55 and Zwartkops is on your left + 3 km.

From Pretoria

Take Mitchell Street under the subway past the Old Power Station (on the left). Turn left into Quagga Road and travel Southwards past Laudium until you reach Zwartkops on your right.

How to Exit Zwartkops

There are 3 exits:

Exit 1: Exit DRIVE-IN Follow signs through the DRIVE-IN and then ERASMIA to the M26. Turn left to Sandton and right to Pretoria West.

Exit 2: RING ROAD R55 LEFT-TURN Take the paved ring road between the Skidpan and the 4x4 Track. Turn left onto the R55. At the robot turn left and travel on the M26 past Erasmia and then to Sandton.

Exit 3: MAIN GATE Turn left or right onto the R55